NH Republicans vote to subsidize private education for affluent families amid state budget crisis

The New Hampshire House and Senate voted Thursday to advance controversial bills expanding the state’s voucher program by removing current eligibility restrictions. These bills, HB 115 in the House and SB 295 in the Senate respectively propose shifting millions of dollars away from public schools toward private education, creating subsidies for affluent families in the state

Under these new measures, New Hampshire would implement a universal voucher system, potentially diverting over $100 million annually from public schools to private institutions, according to a recent analysis by Reaching Higher NH. The current voucher program, initiated in 2021, already costs taxpayers approximately $24 million per year and serves over 5,300 students.

“NH House Republicans just voted to give the most affluent families in the state—people whose kids are already mostly in private schools—an early holiday gift. HB175, expanding eligibility for taxpayer-subsidized school vouchers passes 198-180,” Representative David Meuse (D-Portsmouth) wrote on social media following the vote.

Opposition to the expansion has been widespread, with over 3,000 Granite Staters officially registering their objections during recent legislative hearings while residents in multiple towns —Grantham, Mont Vernon, New Boston, Sunapee, and Weare — voted this week to explicitly reject voucher expansion through local ballot initiatives on town meeting day.

“Today, lawmakers ignored the will of the people,” said Megan Tuttle, president of NEA-New Hampshire. “Across New Hampshire this week, tens of thousands of voters showed up to support their local public schools. By and large, communities voted in favor of budgets that meet the needs of all students and fill the gap created by the state’s continued underfunding of public education. Voters approved contracts that value teachers and support staff and rejected every single effort to enact arbitrary per pupil spending caps. Furthermore, when asked directly on the ballot, Granite Staters resoundingly voiced their opposition to education vouchers and urged their elected officials to reject any expansion efforts.”

“But today, lawmakers ignored the will of the people and pushed forward universal voucher proposals that will divert even more of their constituents’ hard-earned tax dollars away from public education to subsidize private schools for wealthy families.”

RELATED: Lawmakers, parents call on Gov. Ayotte to protect special education and limit voucher expansion

Democrats in the House emphasized the negative consequences, including a lack of accountability and a drain on already limited public school resources. Recent research, such as a study on Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program, suggests that voucher recipients often perform worse academically compared to their public school peers.

Multiple academic studies indicate that “school choice” policies can lead to increased segregation within educational systems and lower student outcomes.

HB 115 now moves to the House Finance Committee, while SB 295 will be reviewed by the Senate Finance Committee. Educators and community leaders pledged to continue their advocacy, highlighting that local schools require sustained investment rather than cuts to their budgets.

The massive voucher expansion comes with a price tag that could increase state education costs by over $100 million, even as the legislature grapples with major cuts to the state budget caused in part by large tax cuts to the very top 1% of wealthiest Granite Staters.

The irony of spending more while in a budget crunch was not lost on State Representative Alissandra Murray (D-Manchester)

“In other words, Republicans just voted to add hundreds of millions of dollars to our budget in a deficit year while cutting the social services NH families actually need.”